Introduction to Ap Kayle - The Divine Nuker

AP Kayle mid is one of the hardest mid champions to play against. Kayle should focus on leveling her Righteous Fury first. This harass will not only let you last hit minions with ease, harass your mid, but it will also require minimal mana. As a mid, naturally, Kayle should be very kind to the jungler, help them leash, and immediately ask for the second Crest of The Ancient Golem. Kayle is not extremely tanky, fighting alone is not advised without nearly full health, mana, and Intervention.

I hope to lead you to many successes as AP Kayle Mid as I teach you how to nuke an enemy to death in just over 2 seconds.

Masteries

As an APC, Kayle relies heavily on the amount of AP she has. This build easily provides over 600 AP, and with the help of these masteries, it could be much higher. The AP boosting masteries as well as the mana regen masteries are incredibly important to AP Kayle. One of the absolute most important masteries for Kayle is Runic Affinity as Kayle is extremely mana starved. This provides an entire extra half minute of mana regen and cd reduction - what could be the matter of living and dying. Do not overlook the utility masteries.

Runes

Many people may not think of runes as an important asset - they are. Runes are incredibly important to Kayle. Kayle, as stated prior, has low health but high damage. A kill or a death can be the matter of the runes. Kayle needs several Greater Mark of Attack Speed runes to allow maximum harassment with Righteous Fury in and out of lane. To cover for Kayle's lack of health, several Greater Glyph of Magic Resist and Greater Seal of Armor runes are necessary and are therefore considered above all other runes in their respective categories. The 3 [Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage]] or Greater Quintessence of Ability Power are extremely helpful early game, allowing maximum farming and in some cases, securing that prized First Blood

Summoner Spells

Flash is extremely useful in both securing kills and escaping death. Without a doubt, Flash should be the first summoner spell selected.

Ignite is a great summoner spell on Kayle, especially early game. Ignite is just what Kayle needs to secure her first 2-3 kills as most mid laners can escape to the tower just before Kayle can kill them - Ignite is sure to secure that kill.

Exhaust is another great spell. It can allow Kayle to secure a kill just before an enemy champion reaches their tower. It can slow down the enemy champion's attack enough that Kayle can kill them as opposed to dying. Lastly, it can allow Kayle to escape in the case of a gank or an extremely rough mid.

As Kayle has a heal and a speed boost in using Divine Blessing, Ghost and Heal are unnecessary. Seeing to the 42 second cooldown on 3 seconds of invincibility, it would be foolish to take Barrier as Kayle. There are no other great summoner spells that would work well with Kayle.

Items - Build of the Divine Nuker

Nashor's Tooth provides much needed AP to Kayle while providing a fantastic 20% cooldown reduction, almost allowing for a nonstop Righteous Fury. Not only does it provide CDR but it converts 15% of AP (+15) in Magic Damage which adds onto the already abusive magic damage of Righteous Fury. As Kayle's AP rises towards 600, this item is extremely useful, adding over 100 Magic Damage per hit.

The Lich Bane is where the nuking comes into play. With a two-second cooldown on the Passive ability [Spellblade], Kayle makes a great use out of this item. As Kayle approaches 600 AP, Reckoning will do over 800 Magic Damage and then the next Righteous Fury hit will deal 905 magic damage through a combination of 600 AP, Nashor's Tooth and Lich Bane. On top of that, only 2 seconds later, a simple Divine Blessing will reactivate the Spellblade passive, allowing another 905 magic damage to be dealt. This total of 2610 Magic Damage within just a few seconds is more than enough to kill most ADCs, supports, and mids with no ease at all.

Guinsoo's Rageblade is extremely useful on this build of Kayle. Kayle only starts really being able to nuke after the Deathcap is purchased - until then, she relies on AP and attack speed to kill her prey. Guinsoo's Rageblade will boost both AP and AD - all of Kayles abilities except for Divine Blessing and Intervention scale off of both AP and AD which makes this a valid item on Kayle. The maximum of 32% bonus attack speed and 32 bonus AP provided by the passive are perfectly suited for Kayle. The 20% attack speed and 10% lifesteal/spellvamp provided by the unique passive when Kayle is under 50% hp is extremely suited for Kayle so long as the summoner uses Intervention when they have lower health, allowing them to reap the maximum advantage from this item. This item was almost created with Kayle in mind.

Rabadon's Deathcap is a fantastic and simple item. Not only does it provide 120 AP, but it also adds an additional 30% total AP. This will help Kayle get to that ultimate goal of 600 AP, allowing her to nuke with ease.

Final Item

Zhonya's Hourglass is a very popular AP item for APCs. If you feel it necessary to protect yourself in the midst of a team-fight, buy it - it protects while providing a large amount of AP.

Guardian Angel is also a fantastic item for Kayle. While it reduces the amount of total AP that she can have, it gives her a second life. With the short cooldown of Intervention which is about 42 seconds, it could be extremely useful.

Deathfire grasp is especially useful when fighting extreme tanks such as Nasus, Cho'Gath and others. If used correctly, this could easily be a game winning item.

Farming

With Kayle, farming is easy -- too easy. Be careful not to push your lane too much in early game, it is far too easy to push and extremely difficult to not push. You need to farm as much as you can as this will determine how good you are late game when it matters. You should only use Righteous Fury to farm as it is low cost in terms of mana while Reckoning is far too costly to waste on minions. You should take Jungle monsters when the jungler is not (excluding the red buff). Farming after the lane phase is easy and distracting. It is important to get the most CS you can, but do not sacrifice your presence in team-fights for a few minions.

Gameplay and Team-work

In Lane Phase

Kayle should play passively with occasional pokes until level 3-4. If Kayle has been constantly poking but not engaging in an actual fight, the enemy mid-lane will be lower on health than Kayle and has probably used most of their potions already. At this point, if the player is comfortable, Kayle can attack with Reckoning to slow their movement speed at which point Kayle should start hitting with Righteous Fury. If the enemy champion runs immediately, back off - if they remain there to fight, ignite them and get the first blood (if it has not already been taken) - pop some potions and use Divine Blessing as necessary.

Kayle is ganked extremely easily. If both sides of the lane are not warded, Kayle can be caught out very easily and killed with no chance of escape - this should be avoided. Do not overextend into the lane until you are level 6 and have a much better chance at an escape plan. Push lane as little as possible - this means do not constantly attack with Righteous Fury. It is nearly impossible to not push lane with Kayle.

Kayle is a great roamer. If you do end up pushing the lane (which is likely to happen) gank bottom or top if you are able. This both helps you and your other team-mates. It is unlikely that the other lanes will be expecting ganks from you which is why it works so well. If you roam to much, your lane WILL get pushed and you WILL lose your tower.

Team-fights

Kayle should not initiate team-fights. You will be forced to use your ultimate early and will then not be able to save your adc or other team-mates when necessary. When Kayle does join teamfights, she gets focused really hard. The other team wants you dead before you have time to use your Intervention on someone more important. This is both a blessing and a curse. It lets your entire team do a ton of damage while you take the hits. You can ult yourself, taking the majority of the spells, and continue to brutalize the other team with Righteous Fury.

With Kayle, you need a high CS to stay good. If you do not have enough CS, you will not survive team-fights due to a lack of damage. Be sure to use Reckoning on the adc or mid as it will slow their efforts to escape while dealing massive damage.

Note: If you are the most fed champion on your team, DO NOT waste your ultimate on anyone but yourself unless you are absolutely sure you will not need it. This may sound greedy, but it can be the difference between a win and a loss. If it is the end of the game and you have 600 AP, that 3 seconds of invincibility can be used to deal that 2610 magic damage that was mentioned before.

Laning Matchups

Good Matchups

Fizz is a commonly detested champion to mid against. Fizz is one of my favorite champions to lane against because it is extremely easy to bait and tackle. All of Fizz's killing ability lies in his Chum the Waters. The trick in fighting Fizz is to harass him with your Righteous Fury until he goes all in on you. He will first send his ult at you and then will hop in to land the killing blows. At this point, you need to use Intervention so that you do not die instantly. As he has no escape - you go all in. I highly suggest igniting to secure the kill.

Veigar is another easy lane matchup for Kayle. Veigar is extremely squishy - just a few notes. It should be your ultimate goal to poke Veigar whenever you can. Veigar's Baleful Strike is what makes him powerful. Letting him farm with this ability is what you want to avoid. Poking Veigar will limit his use of this ability and in turn will limit his AP. Bait his Event Horizon whenever possible so that you can go all in without the worry of being stunned for 3 seconds. The ultimate secret in winning against Veigar is to poke as much as possible and limit his use of Baleful Strike. Shut him down early game so that he cannot instantly kill you late game with his Primordial Burst

Annie is a tricky champion to play against but is still relatively easy. You want to avoid her passive Pyromania as it will allow her to instantly nuke you after level 6. Keep an eye on how close she is to being able to use this passive as it will determine when you attack her. Do to Annie as you do to the previous two champions; poke her like crazy until she has her stun passive - then back off. Annie will be able to escape death with ease by using her stun to get away. If you are close to killing Annie be sure to ignite or you are likely to lose the kill. While you are not always getting kills - you are pushing Annie out of the lane causing her to be under-leveled and easier to kill.

Katarina is a relatively easy champion to play against early game. The goal against Kat is to reach level 6 before she does - if she reaches level 6 before you, it is a free kill for her. Her ultimate can kill you quickly, however, this situation is very similar to Fizz. If she goes all in on you, ult immediately to reduce the maximum amount of damage that she can deal to you. If she goes all in on you, it is likely that she used her only means of escaped (other than flash) to get to you in the first place - her Shunpo. Once you ult yourself you can do two things: flee if you have low health - or go all in. If you go all in, start with Righteous Fury and only use Reckoning when she tries to escape. If you start attacking her immediately after you ult, you have a reasonably good chance of killing her. Poke her as much as you can in lane but try to avoid Bouncing Blades whenever possible - don't stand too close to minions as it will bounce off of them and hit you.

Nidalee can be easily played against if you consider the following - boots should be rushed, you want to avoid her Javelin Toss at all costs because it does massive damage. Do not spring her Bushwhack traps - it is not worth it. Simply avoid them. After Nidalee uses here Javelin Toss, harass her with Righteous Fury and even Reckoning in order to get a few more hits in before she is out of reach. Do not harass so long that her tower attacks you or that she is able to throw another javelin. The goal is to poke and take minimal damage in return in order to force her out of lane or even get a kill. Do not ignite her unless she has already used her Primal Surge as it will be a waste of an ignite. The best way to kill Nidalee is to wait in the bushes on either side of the lane and wait for her to set a trap or bait her to your jungler and together you kill her on the spot. If you cannot dodge her Javelin Toss you will not do well against Nidalee - if you can, laning against her will be a breeze.

Kassadin is another highly detested champion to lane against - with Kayle, it should be a breeze. Kassadin will be too reliant on his ability Null Sphere. This silences you - activate your Righteous Fury before you are silenced and feel free to harass. Kassadin is extremely squishy and with your sustain, you can stay in lane longer than him as long as you harass. In terms of mana, Kassadin can sustain mana with much greater ease due to his Nether Blade so it is important to poke him out of lane whenever possible. Do not try to chase Kassadin - let Kassadin come to you. His Riftwalk is a second Flash. He will escape many times with it if you try to chase him. On the other hand, if you let him come to you by means of Riftwalk he has no easy escape and as long as you ult immediately, you can kill him with ease. If you are unable to ult before he silences you, you have a lesser chance of securing the kill as he will be able to do sizable damage to you, especially with his Void Stone passive. The goal is to poke Kassadin out of lane and let him come to you in order to secure kills.

Karthus is easy as long as you have good strategy. You need to rush boots or you will be low health for the entire length of the laning phase. Karthus will spam his ability Lay Waste until your health is low. If you have boots - it is easier to avoid these and he will waste the entirety of his mana. To kill Karthus - wait until he uses his Wall of Pain before you go in because it is a perfect escape mechanism. Karthus is very squishy - if you manage to kill him after he uses his Wall of Pain get out of his casting range immediately. He will be able to spam Lay Waste until you die. After you kill Karthus, he will likely use his ult - Requiem immediately after in hopes of killing you. You should do one of 2 things - use Intervention on yourself or whoever needs it most nearby - or hope and pray that he is too low on mana not to use it. It is not uncommon for Karthus to get triple kills or higher after he is dead just by using this ability. You should be healing yourself and allies immediately after killing him. His sustain is relatively low - you can poke him out of lane just like many of the other mid lane matchups and you are encouraged to do so.

Gragas can be a tricky matchup if you do not rush boots. Gragas is one of the few champions who can poke you harder than you can poke him - that is if you do not have boots. It is necessary to rush boots to avoid his Barrel Roll in order to not be poked out of lane. After he uses this ability, poke him as much as possible. When Gragas uses his Body Slam to kill minions, harass him until he sends a barrel at you, dodge it and continue to farm. You are going to need some help from the jungle in order to take down Gragas because he has amazing disengage, especially at level 6. If you rush boots, you will be fine in the lane phase. Be especially careful to not get ganked, however, because you will have a real hard time escaping.

Note - - - - - - there are many more matchup descriptions to come!

Summary

Kayle, when played right, is one of the most powerful champions that I have come across in the game. While she is over looked, she can carry teams very easily. It is important that you constantly heal team-mates, have the crest of the ancient golem whenever possible, ult either yourself, the top lane, adc, or sometimes jungler - do not waste it on the support if you don't have to. Farm as much as possible - maximum CS is the key to victory.

Kayle can top - I advise against it strongly. Renekton, Nasus, Riven, Elise, and others can counter you very hard and make that game 45 minutes of hell.

If you follow this guide, you will find yourself killing enemy ADCs and mid-lanes in under 3 seconds. It sounds absurd, certainly - try it.

Closing statements

This is my first guide and I am happy to present it on my most played on champion! I have dedicated a fair amount of time so that you can have a better experience play Kayle in season 4 as this is the first (#first) guide on Kayle for season 4.

I will continue to update this as I make improvements in my game play so that you too can do better with Kayle.

If you liked this guide, please give me a Thumbs up, it would be much appreciated!

If you dislike this guide and wish to give it a thumbs down, do so, but in doing so, please leave a comment or message me exactly what it is that I have done foolishly or wrong and I will fix it ASAP.

I hope this guide helps you in your gameplay!

PS: Situational guides for Kayle are in the near future! I will be working on Kayle builds for AD heavy vs AP heavy matchups, etc.

Change Log

Changes to the Guide:

There are currently no other changes that have been made to this guide.

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!